Editorial: How Takeover Day can go beyond tokenism
Ravi Chandiramani
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
This Friday (23 November) more than 5,000 children and young people will have a say in the running of more than 400 organisations for the children's commissioner for England's 11 Million Takeover Day.
Young people will have the chance to job shadow as well as literally take over from adults working in organisations including police forces, local authorities, businesses and charities.
As 11 Million's chief executive Rob Williams says (interview, p15), the event provides an opportunity to counter the negative stereotypes of young people that dominate the media. Indeed, it will be interesting to gauge the extent of the national and regional media's involvement in Takeover Day. This editor, for one, will have a young person job shadowing for the day.
Not everyone is on board. Barnado's has declined to take part, while the exercise has been criticised in some quarters as the "soppy nonsense of token participation" and of patronising the young by only pretending to empower them. One thing it is sure to do is boost awareness of the the office of the children's commissioner's relatively new branding. A national event of this kind will inevitably be open to accusations of gimmickry.
The actual success of Takeover Day will depend on its legacy in making organisations more willing to give young people a say in decisions that affect them and more confident in involving them in their work. Well beyond this Friday, this will require buy-in from leaders of organisations as well as staff at the forefront of driving youth involvement. It also requires a determination to reach beyond those young people already regularly active in civic life and embrace more of those at the margins of society. For local authorities there is a strong policy impetus to make this work. The 10-year youth strategy states that by 2018, at least 25 per cent of spending on youth activities and facilities should be decided by young people.
Hopefully, this Friday will provide fun, inspiration and act as a springboard. On the one hand, it can provide children and young people with some insights and skills about the world of work. On the other, it should provide a kick-start where needed to organisations to involve the young.
The real goal of Takeover Day should be that organisations realise first-hand how youth participation can help bring positive change to their lives. Anything less and it will rightly stand accused of tokenism.